Research Question: What can we do to improve special education in the United States? Author: Julia Cohen
Article One: Yes, I'm in special education. Does it matter? (2012, December 12). Retrieved November 21, 2014.
Summary: This article is about a boy who suffers from autism but is still highly functioning. He explains how throughout his life in school, he has been bullied and looked down upon for being a special education student. Not once did he get help from a teacher for being bullied. Instead, he stood up for himself and never let anyone put him down again. This meant that he became the bully and therefore transferred schools often. Towards the end of the article, he talked to his principal about his potential and about how the principal thought that he was wasting himself. The boy even stated, “Until I learn to trust more, I’ll still be doing a lot of screaming inside my head.”
Response: What I found interesting that this student never noted was the help of teachers. Not once did he talk to a teacher or did a teacher step in to stop him from being bullied. Instead, he defended himself and over time, he became the bully. This is unfair. This student doesn’t feel comfortable in his own skin. He is constantly worried that he will be judged for who he is, and that is not a way that anyone should live. Schools should look more closely into instances like this because they owe it to their students to make sure that they are comfortable and living up to their full potential. Like any other kid, this boy just wants to fit in, and just because he is a special education student doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve that opportunity just like everyone else does. The boy should not have to face these problems alone, he should have an understanding group of advisors waiting to help him.
Article Two: Lewin, T. (2009, May 30). Supreme Court to Address Meeting the Needs of Special-Education Students. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
Summary: The appearance of this issue in this article was brought all the way to the Supreme Court. It focuses on a boy from Oregon who was troubled. He began using marijuana and ran away from home. The school that he attended never tested him for the special education program, even though his guidance counselor arranged it, and therefore he never got the help that he needed. Basically, this boy attended public school where he was never in any type of special program. When he moved to private school, the school is suggesting that he became ineligible for the special education program and therefore would not get any money reimbursement. The Supreme Court is still ignoring the issue. The schools complained that it would cause “absurd results”.
Response: I find this article absurd. The fact that schools are going to knowingly let a student who needs special attention go without help is nauseating to me. This students is struggling in school and still did not receive proper care even though his guidance counselor asked for him to be tested. Children with these types of problems are being overlooked just so the school can keep some money. This needs to change. We need to stand behind children who fight for their right to a fair education and ensure that they receive the help that they deserve. If it is happening to this boy in Oregon, it can happen anywhere, including Rhode Island, and it needs to be stopped immediately. There must be a law that protects special education students in a better way.
Article Three: Fran O'Reilly, E. (2003, May 1). Membership. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
Summary: This article focuses in on what the United States has done in the past to help disabled students. They talk about the “No Child Left Behind Act” and also about how they have changed the focus of classroom teachers to alter their focus more to disabled children and provide them a learning environment that will be best for them. There are many parts to this article that address different problems that have been fixed over the years, such as monitoring disabled students on assessments, reporting statewide dropout rates, problematic behavior and much more!
Response: This article touches upon very tender subjects in today’s time. But, this article has also found ways to dramatically help children with disabilities when it comes to their school experience. In Rhode Island, just like any other place, there are always children with disabilities, so it is important to know exactly what the United States is doing to its mentally challenged students. This article displays many future and present plans to improve the educational life of a child with disabilities. Because these children are different, they need ulterior ways of doing tasks, and need to be helped and kept up with. Overall, I was impressed with this article and its many impressive reform ideas.
Article Four: Glazer, S. (n.d.). Understanding Autism. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
Summary: According to this article, more people than ever before are being diagnosed with autism. They explain that autism is a tricky disease and that sometimes the student can be brilliant and fully functioning, while other times it is much the opposite. They provide examples of different types of autism and even show a timeline of the history of autism and treatment of it. According to this article, there is a law that states that a child with special needs is to receive a free and appropriate education from the time they are 3 years old until they are 21. Many complain that they do not receive these rights. These types of battles have been fought in the past, but rarely won. Experts are saying that since there is such a large number of students that claim to need special education, they are having a hard time believing that every student is actually in need of special education and it may just be the fault of their previous school having a bad way of teaching them.
Response: Like I said above, people have fought these battles before. There is not much new news on special education, expect for the fact that the rate at which the numbers are rising is large. The bottom line is that there is already a law present that should protect these students, but it doesn’t. For some reason, the government powers are not siding with these children and are leaving them helpless. If we want to improve special education in the United States, we must start with getting a law in place that protects these rights in a more secure way than there is now. Schools and our government just don’t want to lose money, but that is not a good enough excuse to keep a child from a fair education.
Article Five: Tiscareño-Sato, G. (2009). You Gotta Know the Rules If You're Gonna Play the Game. Future Reflections, 28(3), 35.
Summary: This article focuses mostly on what parents can do to help their child with special needs. The article started off with a story about a premature child who was then about to go into the education system when the parents of the child found out that there were no special education programs. The parents of this child decided to take measures into their own hands and break down the responsibility of parents of special needs children into three parts: Attend a special education law boot camp, start an in-home library on special education laws and best practices, and keep the knowledge going. Basically, these children were building knowledge and power on what is a truly important issue in today’s society, and it resulted well for them. They found that with a bit of a push, their child received a great education and was placed into great programs.
Response: When I read this article I was a bit shocked to hear how much that the United States is lacking when it comes to special education. Overall, this article helped to show me that one person really can make a difference, but nothing will change if people have no knowledge of the issue. In this case, knowledge really is power. The parents of this child learned about laws of education to ensure that their child was placed in the right hands. When people perform in these types of ways, it tends to work well and actually begin to make a difference. The problem will not be clear unless some attention is drawn to it. If problems like this are simply being overlooked, then that speaks a large volume on who we are as a country, and we need to start to promote change.
Overall Reaction to Your Research
Overall, i learned that there is definitely a problem with special education in the schools of the United States. We care too much about money and neglect the students that need teacher help the most. It is unfair and unjust to overlook such people. These students are bullied and sad. They need some comfort in their school environment and they deserve it. I learned that the government cares more about saving money than it does to test students for entrance into the special education program and also for placing students in the correct programs. Now more than ever, we need good schools that will support the learning styles of special needs students. With more and more people being diagnosed with autism each day, there is no doubt in my mind that schools will lose money, but it is something that they will need to deal with, since it is the right of the student to get the help that they deserve.
How does this research help us identify or refine a strategy to improve schools in Rhode Island?
I have learned that this kind of neglect can happen anywhere. So, who knows if it happens in Rhode Island? I don't, but i can bet that it most likely does. With the knowledge i have gained from my research, i now see that there are ways that we can help students with special needs in not only Rhode Island, but across the nation. If we band together and fight for the rights of special needs students, demanding strict laws, closer testing rights, and better teachers, we can change our school system for the better. We need to fight for our students, and not let anything or anyone get in our way. All students deserve proper education, and special needs students are no exception.
Author: Julia Cohen
Article One:
Yes, I'm in special education. Does it matter? (2012, December 12). Retrieved November 21, 2014.
Summary: This article is about a boy who suffers from autism but is still highly functioning. He explains how throughout his life in school, he has been bullied and looked down upon for being a special education student. Not once did he get help from a teacher for being bullied. Instead, he stood up for himself and never let anyone put him down again. This meant that he became the bully and therefore transferred schools often. Towards the end of the article, he talked to his principal about his potential and about how the principal thought that he was wasting himself. The boy even stated, “Until I learn to trust more, I’ll still be doing a lot of screaming inside my head.”
Response: What I found interesting that this student never noted was the help of teachers. Not once did he talk to a teacher or did a teacher step in to stop him from being bullied. Instead, he defended himself and over time, he became the bully. This is unfair. This student doesn’t feel comfortable in his own skin. He is constantly worried that he will be judged for who he is, and that is not a way that anyone should live. Schools should look more closely into instances like this because they owe it to their students to make sure that they are comfortable and living up to their full potential. Like any other kid, this boy just wants to fit in, and just because he is a special education student doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve that opportunity just like everyone else does. The boy should not have to face these problems alone, he should have an understanding group of advisors waiting to help him.
Article Two:
Lewin, T. (2009, May 30). Supreme Court to Address Meeting the Needs of Special-Education Students. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
Summary: The appearance of this issue in this article was brought all the way to the Supreme Court. It focuses on a boy from Oregon who was troubled. He began using marijuana and ran away from home. The school that he attended never tested him for the special education program, even though his guidance counselor arranged it, and therefore he never got the help that he needed. Basically, this boy attended public school where he was never in any type of special program. When he moved to private school, the school is suggesting that he became ineligible for the special education program and therefore would not get any money reimbursement. The Supreme Court is still ignoring the issue. The schools complained that it would cause “absurd results”.
Response: I find this article absurd. The fact that schools are going to knowingly let a student who needs special attention go without help is nauseating to me. This students is struggling in school and still did not receive proper care even though his guidance counselor asked for him to be tested. Children with these types of problems are being overlooked just so the school can keep some money. This needs to change. We need to stand behind children who fight for their right to a fair education and ensure that they receive the help that they deserve. If it is happening to this boy in Oregon, it can happen anywhere, including Rhode Island, and it needs to be stopped immediately. There must be a law that protects special education students in a better way.
Article Three:
Fran O'Reilly, E. (2003, May 1). Membership. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
Summary: This article focuses in on what the United States has done in the past to help disabled students. They talk about the “No Child Left Behind Act” and also about how they have changed the focus of classroom teachers to alter their focus more to disabled children and provide them a learning environment that will be best for them. There are many parts to this article that address different problems that have been fixed over the years, such as monitoring disabled students on assessments, reporting statewide dropout rates, problematic behavior and much more!
Response: This article touches upon very tender subjects in today’s time. But, this article has also found ways to dramatically help children with disabilities when it comes to their school experience. In Rhode Island, just like any other place, there are always children with disabilities, so it is important to know exactly what the United States is doing to its mentally challenged students. This article displays many future and present plans to improve the educational life of a child with disabilities. Because these children are different, they need ulterior ways of doing tasks, and need to be helped and kept up with. Overall, I was impressed with this article and its many impressive reform ideas.
Article Four:
Glazer, S. (n.d.). Understanding Autism. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
Summary: According to this article, more people than ever before are being diagnosed with autism. They explain that autism is a tricky disease and that sometimes the student can be brilliant and fully functioning, while other times it is much the opposite. They provide examples of different types of autism and even show a timeline of the history of autism and treatment of it. According to this article, there is a law that states that a child with special needs is to receive a free and appropriate education from the time they are 3 years old until they are 21. Many complain that they do not receive these rights. These types of battles have been fought in the past, but rarely won. Experts are saying that since there is such a large number of students that claim to need special education, they are having a hard time believing that every student is actually in need of special education and it may just be the fault of their previous school having a bad way of teaching them.
Response: Like I said above, people have fought these battles before. There is not much new news on special education, expect for the fact that the rate at which the numbers are rising is large. The bottom line is that there is already a law present that should protect these students, but it doesn’t. For some reason, the government powers are not siding with these children and are leaving them helpless. If we want to improve special education in the United States, we must start with getting a law in place that protects these rights in a more secure way than there is now. Schools and our government just don’t want to lose money, but that is not a good enough excuse to keep a child from a fair education.
Article Five:
Tiscareño-Sato, G. (2009). You Gotta Know the Rules If You're Gonna Play the Game. Future Reflections, 28(3), 35.
Summary: This article focuses mostly on what parents can do to help their child with special needs. The article started off with a story about a premature child who was then about to go into the education system when the parents of the child found out that there were no special education programs. The parents of this child decided to take measures into their own hands and break down the responsibility of parents of special needs children into three parts: Attend a special education law boot camp, start an in-home library on special education laws and best practices, and keep the knowledge going. Basically, these children were building knowledge and power on what is a truly important issue in today’s society, and it resulted well for them. They found that with a bit of a push, their child received a great education and was placed into great programs.
Response: When I read this article I was a bit shocked to hear how much that the United States is lacking when it comes to special education. Overall, this article helped to show me that one person really can make a difference, but nothing will change if people have no knowledge of the issue. In this case, knowledge really is power. The parents of this child learned about laws of education to ensure that their child was placed in the right hands. When people perform in these types of ways, it tends to work well and actually begin to make a difference. The problem will not be clear unless some attention is drawn to it. If problems like this are simply being overlooked, then that speaks a large volume on who we are as a country, and we need to start to promote change.
Overall Reaction to Your Research
Overall, i learned that there is definitely a problem with special education in the schools of the United States. We care too much about money and neglect the students that need teacher help the most. It is unfair and unjust to overlook such people. These students are bullied and sad. They need some comfort in their school environment and they deserve it. I learned that the government cares more about saving money than it does to test students for entrance into the special education program and also for placing students in the correct programs. Now more than ever, we need good schools that will support the learning styles of special needs students. With more and more people being diagnosed with autism each day, there is no doubt in my mind that schools will lose money, but it is something that they will need to deal with, since it is the right of the student to get the help that they deserve.How does this research help us identify or refine a strategy to improve schools in Rhode Island?
I have learned that this kind of neglect can happen anywhere. So, who knows if it happens in Rhode Island? I don't, but i can bet that it most likely does. With the knowledge i have gained from my research, i now see that there are ways that we can help students with special needs in not only Rhode Island, but across the nation. If we band together and fight for the rights of special needs students, demanding strict laws, closer testing rights, and better teachers, we can change our school system for the better. We need to fight for our students, and not let anything or anyone get in our way. All students deserve proper education, and special needs students are no exception.